Can France and Germany relaunch Europe’s security agenda?

There can be no European security agenda without France and Germany. To shape this agenda and get others on board, they need to converge on the challenges they wish to tackle and the means to do that. This policy brief reviews the degree of Franco-German convergence while focusing on three issues: geopolitical assessment, strategic cultures, and capability development. We find that strategic convergence often goes hand in hand with tactical divergence. To be able to shape Europe’s security agenda in the short- to medium-term, deeper Franco-German convergence and more inclusive co-leadership will be needed.  

Image: CC Tamanna Rumee, Source: Unsplash